Wore out
Last week at church a couple that I know both spoke separately yet what they said went together . The words each of them said really stuck in my head.
The wife was doing the time with children session that our church does every Sunday morning. She held up pictures of two of their cats. One cat had been with them for years. He had spent his entire life in the comfort of a loving family. He had always had food, people around to love and pet him and a place to call home. This cat is very friendly when he wants to be. When he wants attention he will love on you, but sometimes he just wants to be left alone and go his own way.
The other cat came to them as an adult. You can tell by looking at him that he’s had a rough life. He didn’t always have the comfort and shelter that a family provides. He was sickly and skinny when he first came to them. He was also very skiddish of people. He warmed up little by little. Eventually he grew to love and trust this family. Now everytime they open the door this cat is there wanting their love and attention. He is so excited to see them and so thankful to have this family. While the other cat only wants to have something to do with them on his terms.
See this stray cat who came along knows what it is like not to have the comfort of a loving family. Not to have his needs immediately met. This cat has really been through a lot and his scars show you that.He is so thankful and excited to have them. The other cat has always had the comfort of a family and had all of his needs met.
Sometimes we Christians are like that. I’ve known God most of my life. I’ve gotten comfortable with Him. He has always been there and I know He always will be. I’ve wandered off on my own living the way I choose not making time for Him. I’ve taken Him for granted because He’s always been there. Even when I’ve left Him, He he has protected me. You would think that knowing Him my whole life would make me even more excited to have Him. You would think I would never turn from Him and always be excited to share His word with others. My excitement has wore out. I’m not on fire anymore. Sure I love God and I know what He has done for me. I’ve seen what He has done. I know that I am so lucky to have Him. but I’ve gotten comfortable. My relationship with God has become a casual one. I’m not shouting it from the rooftops, I’m not yelling hallelujah and amen. I’m just sitting on a bench quietly soaking up the word.
People who come to God later in life know what it’s like not to have Him. They are so excited to wake up and go to church every Sunday morning. To hear His word and see what He’s going to do in their lives. They are completely filled with Him and crave His attention and affection. They are crying out, yelling and cheerfully screaming His name from the tops of the mountains.They are waiting at the door of the church excited for it to open do they can go inside and feed their soul.
We know that God will never leave us. He will always be there but we should all have that same excitement that new believers have. We shouldn’t get wore out. God never does. He never changes. He is just as great as He was the first time we heard His name. He is always there, He is always amazing and always good. He always forgives us and loves us. How can we lose excitement over that? The words of this lady have stuck in my mind for over a week. I have decided it’s time for me to stop being comfortable. To stop being wore out. It’s time for me to be on fire for my God. It’s time for me to renew my relationship with Him and get that excitement back. We should continually renew that excitement all of our lives and stay on fire for God.
Later on in the service her husband got up and spoke. We are searching for a new pastor. A prospective pastor was there to speak. Her husband is in charge of introducing all of the pastors that come to speak. He said that the first thing he noticed about this possible pastor is that his Bible is wore out. It doesn’t look brand new and shiny. You can tell that he has read it a lot. It is well used. He doesn’t just bring it to church on Sunday morning and let it sit on the shelf for the rest of the week. He really dives in to his Bible and searches the word. He raised the question : What does your Bible look like? Are you really searching God’s word? Are the pages crisp and new as if they’ve never been turned or Is your Bible wore out? If it’s not wore out it should be.
You can carry a bible around with you all of the time but if you never open it to study it, it’s not going to do you any good. Your goal should be to have a wore out Bible.
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